Every year, the Georgia High School State Cross-Country
meet brings
together some of the best teams and runners in the state.
It is a showdown between teams and individuals that belong
to five different classifications. There are teams that
range in classification from A to AAAAA, the larger schools
being AAAAA. Each classification has its favorite individuals
and teams.The AAAAA race was probably the most anticipated
race in Georgia Cross
Country history. McEachern's Ben Hubers was clearly the
favorite with
Berkmar's Girma Mechesco and Walton's Jay Heller as the
guys capable of
upsetting him. On the team side, Parkview was the favorite.
Girma stunned
Hubers for the win with a time of 15:01 for 5,000 meters
and Parkview took >the team title. But, we at Run Fit
Sports would like to recognize teams from our area who competed
in the State Championships. Schools from our area competed
in all but one classification, that being AA.
AAAAA
Girls :
-16th place Union Grove. The Union Grove girls won the
Region 2-AAAAA meet. The team is young and will look to
improve next year.
-19th place Luella. Luella ran well enough for second in
their region
behind Union Grove and were lead by Sarah Orendorff. This
team is also young and will improve under the guidance of
one of Georgia's top coaches, Richard Westbrook.
-17th place Luella of Henry County. They were the winners
of the Region
2-AAAAA meet. Nick Bays won the race individually to lead
the Lions. The
Lions will be a young team next year as they are losing
a few seniors who were apart of the varsity team. The Lions
have depth though, so Westbrook will have a good group of
guys to work with.
-18th place Union Grove. Second place behind Luella in their
region meet,
the Wolverine boys ran pretty well at state. Like county
and region rival
Luella, the Wolverine's will be rebuilding.
-28th place Newnan.
AAAA
Girls:
-2nd overall was Peachtree City's McIntosh High School.
With the absence of
Emily Borsare, the Chiefs were no longer the clear favorites
but still had a chance at being the AAAA state champs. The
Cheifs are a very young team who will be fun to watch the
next few years. Emily Borsare recently signed with the University
of Louisville.
7th-Fayette County's Starr's Mill. Freshman Jackie Sample
was the state runner-up as an individual and lead her team
to a respectable finish. Like the guys team, the girls have
depth and good coaching. Keep your eyes on the Panther girls.
-14th place Whitewater. Very young team with alot of depth
and very good
coaches. They have a huge team, so there are many kids who
want to run. Look for this team to make a name for themselves
next season and years to come.
-19th place Stockbridge.
AAAA
Boys:
-9th place Stockbridge was lead by Kelsey Armistead. Stockbridge
has been
running well the past few years and have a new coach who
is looking to establish Stockbridge as a state contender.
-13th place Starr's Mill. Austin Enriquez dominated the
boys race with the time of 16:01 for 5k, his first state
title. This team has depth, so keep your eyes on them. With
the coaching staff and depth Starr's Mill has, they will
be a top team in AAAA soon.
-14th place McIntosh. A friendly crosstown rival of Starr's
Mill, McIntosh
had a good day led by Michael Mateos' 12th place finish.
The Chiefs are only going to get stronger with depth they
have.
AAA Girls:
-4th overall Eagle's Landing. The Eagle's have been dominant
in the state for many years now. Coach Spinks' team runs
really well as a unit, making them a feared state contender.
Don't be surprised if you see the on top of the podium in
years to come as Spinks is a great coach.
-20th place Spalding.
-21st place Sandy Creek. Very young, local team. Look for
them to be at state next year.
AAA Boys:
-5th place Eagle's Landing. Like their girls, the boys
team runs well as a
unit and Coach Spinks will have his team at the top soon.
Consistent state
championship appearances for the Eagles.
-8th place Spaulding. Maybe a surprise at state, this
team of young harriers will be one to watch in years to
come. Will Ficklen led the team with a top 10 finish.
There were no AA Schools.
A Girls:
-1st place Landmark. No surprise here. Landmark gets another
win under
legendary coach Bill Thorne. Two runners finished within
the top 10.
-5th place Our Lady of Mercy. Two runners finished in the
top 10. Sarah
Hohenberger put in a solid run much like the 800/1600m double
she had at last years state meet where she won both of those
events.
A Boys:
-1st Place Our Lady of Mercy. The race was won easily for
Mercy with the
Lethridge brothers leading the way and with them putting
four runners in the
top 15. The dominance will continue with the Lethridge brothers
leadership next year as well.
-2nd place Landmark. Again, another great showing by Landmark.
Coach Thorne has his team in contention every year. As told
by Daniel Hix, a freshman on Landmark's varsity, "It
was an unepected 2nd, we thought we were going to
get 3rd!" Their entire varsity will be returning, so
the race with OLM will be there again.
